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The New Evangelization and Catholic Social Teaching
Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo, President & CEO, Catholic Relief Services
Evangelization literally means to announce Good News. Documents from Vatican II onwards have affirmed that
evangelization lies at the heart of Catholic identity and that it is the vocation of Catholics to proclaim, or witness, our
faith. Contemporary documents recognize that in order to be effective witnesses, Catholics must first have a deep
grounding in our own faith. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has outlined a pastoral plan for the New
Evangelization that focuses on three pillars: faith, worship and witness—beginning with faith. A deep grounding in our
faith begins with an encounter with Christ: his life, death, mission and ministry.
Faith
Scripture and Catholic tradition reveal that Christ is present in a special way in the poor and vulnerable. We are invited
to a deeper relationship with Christ through service to and relationship with those who are poor. Matthew 25:40 makes
this connection most explicitly. Jesus says, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Through relationship with the poor, Christians experience relationship with Christ.
At Catholic Relief Services, we encounter Christ every minute of every hour through our work with the poorest and
most marginalized people in the world. This is how we express our Catholic identity, and this is how we witness to our
faith.
Works of corporal and spiritual mercy help meet the needs of the poor. These acts of mercy are not confined to
almsgiving. Works of mercy also include addressing the social and political dimensions of poverty (Compendium of the
Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 184). To address the social and political dimensions of poverty, people of faith are
asked to understand the root causes of poverty and work toward solving the underlying problems. Humans are
powerless to eliminate poverty by ourselves; only God can do this. But we can help ease the suffering of the poor
through our actions and prayers.
Worship
Catholics view the Eucharist as the “source and summit” (Lumen Gentium, no. 11) of our Christian faith. The Eucharistic
celebration binds us in solidarity as one human family. Solidarity means, “We are one human family whatever our
national, racial, ethnic, economic and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they
may be” (USCCB Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching). The Eucharistic altar reminds us of our solidarity with each
other as we gather around the same table without distinction between rich and poor.
When he instituted the Eucharist during the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated the Passover Seder with his closest friends
and broke bread, offering it to everyone—even his betrayer (Matthew 26:20‒28). All four Gospels also recount the story
of Jesus breaking bread and multiplying it into more than enough food for the masses of people gathered. Breaking
bread is linked to the sharing of bread with everyone, especially with those who do not have enough to eat. The meal is
intertwined with Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, where he gave his life so that all would live abundantly. Through Christ’s
sacrifice, we are all transformed—and empowered to live lives of service and solidarity.
The writings of St. John Paul II developed the concept of solidarity. Describing it as a Christian virtue, St. John Paul II had
a vision of solidarity as community and collaboration:
When interdependence becomes recognized in this way, the correlative response as a moral and social attitude,
as a “virtue,” is solidarity. This then is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of
so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit
oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really
responsible for all (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 39).
Witness and Identity
Witnessing is how we proclaim our faith. It lies at the heart of Catholic identity: From the beginning, the apostles were
sent by the Holy Spirit to witness to what they had seen and heard (Acts 1:8). Peter describes the content of this witness
in an early speech (Acts 10: 34–43). He proclaims that the apostles were anointed to bear witness to these actions of
Jesus:
 Proclaiming peace
 Doing good
 Healing
 Rising from the dead
 Forgiving sins
The current USCCB pastoral plan for the New Evangelization also describes witness as the core vocation of all Christians,
stressing that our witness should affirm the life and dignity of the human person as created in God’s image (Genesis
1:26‒27). Witness can imply overt proclamation of this core value, or it can be seen in the actions of Catholics and
Catholic organizations to promote human life and dignity in the public sphere.
Catholics respect and protect life from conception until natural death. This core belief is reflected in the life and witness
of all Catholics, and includes opposing any and all activity that devalues human life, as well as promoting God’s vision for
a human community free of poverty and violence. God’s vision is reflected in the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus in
the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5‒7) and the peaceable kingdom envisioned by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11:1‒10).
In this vision, violence comes to an end and all people live in harmony with creation, each having what they need.
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